Sunday, 6 September 2009

BARNABY OLIVER – LONG DIVISION WITH REMAINDERS EP VERSION 6 (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

BARNABY OLIVER – LONG
DIVISION WITH REMAINDERS EP VERSION 6 (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

The sixth version of
the LDWR EP comes from Barnaby Oliver, a UK born composer/sound artist who can
currently be found in Melbourne.The
movie On The Beach was filmed in Melbourne and if you are not familiar with the
work, it dealt with the fear of the unknown, the fallout that was approaching
and the catastrophe inevitable.Naturally it was a film that dealt with apprehension and dread.A description that could easily be applied
to the nature of these tracks too.

It begins with what
could be the sound of wind amplified.Maybe this is the drifting cloud of radiation as suggested above.Motion suggests.

There is something
quite barren about his version of track 2.It sounds like the combination of harsh winds and a Geiger counter as it
is easy to envisage being lost in the desert and being attacked by
insects.All in all it is quite an
uncomfortable listen and experience.And this all comes from quite a minimal motion where the dynamics rain
subtle to the extreme.This is a man
messing with heads.

The barely one minute
long version of track 3 exists seemingly in the form of a helicopter assaulting
the listener.This is an exaggerated
take on the original track, a real defiant gesture towards the source
material.No whether that be of love or
hate is open to suggestion.

It ends with a
shrieking version of track 4 that rattles the stereo from left to right and
back again.The disorientation is
illuminating, gradual then painful as nothing feels assisted in its wake.